i wouldn't be standing on this stage today without my comprehensive school education. [applause] so, britain gave me, gave my family, a great gift that my parents never had. a safe and secure childhood. and you know my parents didn't talk much about their early lives, it was too painful, it hurt too much. the pain of those they lost. the guilt of survivors. but i believe that their experience meant they brought up both david and myself differently as a result. because having struggled for life itself, they instilled in us a sense of duty to ease the struggles of others. and this came not just from my parents' wartime experience it came from the daily fabric of our childhood. you know there were toys and games, rows about homework. i was actually a dallas fan, believe it or not, which didn't go down well with my dad as you can imagine. so of course there were the normal things, but every upbringing is special, and mine was special because of the place of politics within it. when i was twelve years old, i met a south african friend of my parents, her name was ruth first.